Boris reaffirms his enthusiasm for an estuary airport, and sees it as a “moment for greatness”

Date added: May 11, 2012

Having got back into power, Boris has already stated that he will use his second term of office to push his estuary airport scheme. Urging the government to give the scheme its backing, he repeated his belief that the hub airport – dubbed Boris Island – had the potential to place London as the “economic powerhouse of Europe.” Boris wants a four-runway airport, which would be the biggest in the world, to be built in the Thames Estuary. He said: “The Government has got to seize the nettle. This is a moment for greatness. It is a moment for bravery” and “My gut feeling is that you could entrench London’s position as the economic powerhouse of Europe. You would solve all sorts of problems in transport infrastructure and regeneration if you went for a big, bold solution of the kind that Norman Foster was outlining.” There was a protest against the estuary airport plans outside City Hall.

They claim the Mayor has championed the scheme in the face of opposition from local politicians and environmental campaigners and despite the Estuary being beyond London’s borders.

Campaigners from No Estuary Airport, the Campaign against Climate Change and AirportWatch will be joined at their protest by London Assembly members Jenny Jones, Caroline Pidgeon and Murad Qureshi.

Phil Thornhill from the Campaign against Climate Change said: “There is at the moment no way of sustaining air travel on a large scale without precipitating a potentially catastrophically high level of climate destabilising emissions which will wreck the future for everyone.

“Boris Island is not the answer. We need to think more deeply and imaginatively on how we organise transport systems for the future that are truly sustainable.”